Concerned parents and residents immediately gathered outside Robb Elementary School as soon as they heard of the shooting at the school. When the police arrived, they said they begged for law enforcement to charge into the building and considered entering themselves while the gunman was inside for at least 40 minutes.
CNN reports that the law enforcement response to the shooting incident has drawn scrutiny days after the horrific massacre. Since the school massacre on Tuesday, law enforcement officials have given conflicting narratives on what exactly happened when the gunman arrived in the school.
More could have been done
One of the victim's fathers, Javier Cazares said that he ran to the school building after he learned about the shooting, and saw some officers outside the building.
He said that he was upset that authorities did not appear to be moving into the building. He wanted to rush in because the cops are not doing anything like they were supposed to do.
AS per NBC News, videos circulating online showed frustrated parents confronting police officers outside the school while the gunman was inside.
Residents shouted at the officers telling them to go to the school after the attack began, but according to a resident, the officers did not. Federal officials even handcuffed a parent who encouraged officers to enter the premises.
Parent's frustration with the police
The parent's frustration is real especially when police have not breached the area yet despite almost an hour after the shooting started, as per Kenneth Trump, a Cleveland-based school safety consultant.
For Trump, there were many unanswered questions like why an entrance or back door at school was left unlocked. There was also a long gap between the arrival of the police at the scene and the time the gunman was taken down. It was also unknown how equipped local law enforcement is in handling a gunman.
According to Texas Tribune, Trump said that after Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999, law enforcement veered away from waiting and setting a perimeter during an active shooter situation. The police are now trained to immediately enter the scene and subdue the shooter even if alone.
The question, Trump added, is if law enforcement officers have the equipment and training to handle such a crisis.
Conflicting statements, unanswered questions
At a Wednesday Press conference, the Texas Department of Public Safety said that the shooter encountered a police officer employed by the school district before he charged through a back door but did not exchange gunfire with the gunman. Other DPS officers were quoted in media reports saying that there was an exchange of gunfire.
On Thursday, Victor Escalon, DPS officials now say that there was no police officer on campus when the shooter arrived.
The authorities also have not answered crucial questions like why it took them long to stop the gunman, the seemingly unlocked the main door to the school, and questions clarifying discrepancies in previous statements by agency officials.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has called on the FBI to investigate the shooting and the law enforcement's response.
